BIO

My name is Brian Zhang and I'm a freshman studying finance on a pre-law track from Sarasota, Florida. I hope to attend law school following my time at Florida State in order to use a legal and business education to serve people and their work. In my free time, I enjoy studying history, reading schools of thought, and competing in Olympic weightlifting.

Race, Firearms, and Religion in the 20th Century

Abstract

The 20th century’s civil rights movement marked a cultural shift in the United States. During this time of change, different ideological groups emerged with their own solutions on how to campaign for these rights, one prevalent group being the Black Panther Party. Founded in 1966, the Black Panthers was a controversial group to the public due to violent encounters, despite this, the Panthers actively worked to develop social programs for African American communities across the country, such as free breakfast for school children and health clinics. The churches of these areas were the holding grounds for these programs, interlocking the Panthers with the symbol of Christ. By analyzing historic newspapers, this research explores the relationship between the Black Panther Party and the churches they associated with to not only tell their story but also examine the public perception on them as well. A total of28 churches were evaluated and out of these, 12 held relevant sources. A total of 71 sources were compiled into a database, and out of these, Sacred Heart Church stood as an outlier consisting of 28% of all sources found. The investigation into Sacred Hearts reveals a controversy involving the Panthers allegedly distributing a coloring book depicting violence towards police. While the pastor and Panthers deny involvement, the press takes a critical and doubtful position towards them. This research works to use this story as part of the greater connection of faith, race, and firearms in 20th century America.

Keywords: Race, Firearms, Religion, History